Talent Like This
by PFTones3482
Summary: Ferb is at the fair, feeling downhearted, and throws away his Log book. A group of curious demi-gods find it and decide he must be a child of the gods. Annabeth and Leo go after Ferb only to find him looking a little lost and alone. Bonding! T for mentions of suicide. One-Shot. After BoO, but not really any spoilers.


**We're going to say that this takes place after BoO (spoilers!) and maybe a year and a half after the original Phineas and Ferb series, meaning they're about eleven, twelve years old. **

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Percy Jackson. **

**I don't know what it is with me and Percy Jackson lately, but I can't get enough. I seriously love Leo Valdez.**

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><p>GENERAL POV<p>

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><p>Ferb glanced up from the tattered journal in his hands, the cover littered with faded letters that bore the name "Ferb's Log" on it. His dark navy blue eyes perused the fairgrounds, eyebrows crinkling as he searched for his siblings.<p>

His eyes found Candace first, riding the Ferris wheel and clutching onto Jeremy tightly, her face sheet white. The Brit chuckled, knowing that it must have taken every force on earth for Jeremy to convince the acrophobic girl to go on the ride. He was pleased that she was attempting to overcome her fear and moved on.

His eyes landed on Phineas and Isabella next, laughing and sitting on the merry go round. Ferb smiled thinly. Though Phineas was still as oblivious as ever, he and Isabella had gotten _much _closer over the last year and a half, often leaving Ferb out of events.

He shook his head lightly, trying to rid the thought from his head as he moved on. Baljeet was in India, visiting relatives, and without the nerd, Buford had, surprisingly, asked Adyson if she would go to the fair with him. More surprising was the fact that she had agreed.

The two were now playing a video game and attempting to cream each other, but Ferb could tell they were enjoying themselves.

He lost sight of the bully as a large group of almost a dozen teenagers walked by, laughing and the majority of them holding hands with one another. This didn't go unnoticed by Ferb, and the boy sighed and stared down at his Log book, worn out from so much use. He thumbed the pages lightly and then stood dejectedly, tossing the book into the trashcan that was cemented into the ground next to the bench he had been sitting on.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Ferb walked away from the bench and from his supposed friends, tears threatening in his eyes and his lower lip trembling.

While he knew that Phineas cared about him, and so did Isabella and the rest of the Fireside girls and his friends, he couldn't help but feel completely alone. Isabella quite obviously favored Phineas, and for a while it had seemed that the reverse was true as well.

Buford and Baljeet had always been a packaged deal, and Ferb knew that Buford had obtained a crush on Adyson a while ago. He was happy for the boy, he truly was. And Baljeet not being there was a force of nature that Ferb couldn't help. Candace and Jeremy had offered to hang out with him, but Ferb had politely declined, knowing that they wanted to spend time alone.

Alone.

Ferb scoffed and kicked at the ground with his foot, surprised when a tear slid down his cheek. He brushed it away harshly.

He was always alone. He didn't know why it bothered him so much, but the truth was, it hurt more than he cared to admit.

The inventor stumbled off of the pavement and into a grassy area, leaned against a tree, slid down onto the ground, drew his knees to his chest, and cried.

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><p>Ferb hadn't gone unnoticed by the group of ten teenagers. They stared after him, surprised when he had tossed the large book into the trashcan.<p>

One of the boys, about seventeen years old with jet black hair and green eyes, strolled over to the trashcan and plucked the book out of it, turning it over and flipping open the pages, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Whoa…" he murmured, flipping through the pages quickly. He glanced up to find his friends staring at him and he smiled. "Annabeth, Leo, you guys would find this really cool."

A curly, blonde haired girl with stormy gray eyes and a male with a Latino complexion and unruly black hair moved over to the teen, each positioning themselves at one side of his body. "Holy Hera," Annabeth murmured. "Percy, this kid….wow."

"These blueprints are so sophisticated," Leo said in awe, reaching over and taking the book from his friend's hands. "Why on earth would he throw them away?"

The rest of the group walked over and crowded around Leo, murmuring in surprise as they saw the neat lines that crisscrossed the pages, the completely correct math that was almost impossible for the majority of them to do littering the margins.

"Look at this," Jason said, leaning over and pointing to a page, his blonde hair falling in his sparkling blue eyes. "Anti-gravity device? There is no way…."

Frank turned the page over Leo's shoulder and grinned. "Shrink ray? And a time machine?"

Hazel shook her head in awe, her dark brown curls giving off the faint scent of jasmine. "This is almost impossible."

Her brother glanced up, his intertwined fingers tightening around the son of Apollo's hand as a thought occurred to all of them. "Unless…." Nico muttered.

Everyone tilted their heads and looked at Leo. "Unless he's a son of Hephaestus," Will Solace said, confirming what they were all thinking and squeezing Nico's hand back.

Leo shut the cover of the book and stared at it for a moment. "Well, that or Athena. It doesn't say he actually built them; he might have just designed them."

Annabeth punched Leo lightly. "Are you saying Athena's kids can't build?" she demanded.

Leo grinned widely and rolled his eyes. "Of course not," he said with a laugh. "Just that we're better at it."

He ducked to avoid getting punched and then straightened. "You should go talk to him," Piper said, crossing her arms and nodding in the direction the green haired boy had gone. "See what he knows."

Leo hesitated. "What if he is an Athena kid?"

Annabeth released Percy's hand and moved over to Leo. "I'll go with you," she decided. "You guys go on ahead and have fun. We'll be back once we give him his book back."

Nico looked in the direction of the boy, a worried look crossing his features. Will glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "Nico? You good?"

Everyone looked at the son of Hades and Nico sighed. "Something just…doesn't seem right about him."

"Like, he's a monster?" Frank questioned, his eyes hardening.

Grover, who had been silent until now, shook his head. "He definitely isn't a monster. I could smell that much. He didn't smell like a half blood though," the satyr murmured, rubbing a hand over his beard thoughtfully.

Annabeth shrugged. "I mean, he may have learned how to mask the smell. He's pretty young. He might not know and we all know that just that diminishes how much we smell."

She blushed as the last word came out of her mouth and everyone grinned at her. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"So, if he's not a monster, what are you sensing?" Jason asked.

Nico sighed, his eyes dimming a little. After seeing him happy for so long, the campers were a little surprised at the turn around. "Grover's right, he isn't a monster. He just seemed….agitated. Depressed, almost."

Hazel's eyebrows flew up and she looked over at Annabeth and Leo. "You guys should go talk to him. Regardless of whether or not he's a demi god, if he's depressed he probably needs someone to talk to."

Frank kissed her cheek lightly and Annabeth nodded, not missing the flash of utter sadness that had slid across Leo's eyes. "Will do. We'll let you know when we're done," she promised. "Come on Leo."

Clutching the book in his hands, the two demi-gods set off after the intelligent green haired tween.

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><p>Ferb gulped and pulled his knees closer to his chest, trying his best to keep out of sight of the fairgrounds and the people in them.<p>

He didn't quite understand why no one seemed to want to spend time with him. After all, he stayed quiet, allowing everyone else to grasp the spotlight with the words. He had sacrificed himself for his friends numerous times (namely the pharmacist apocalypse), given up afternoon outings of fun so that Isabella could have a day alone with Phineas…heck, even Perry seemed to like Phineas better than Ferb.

The Brit sighed and rested his small chin on his knees, letting the tears pour down his face. If he was so alone, so…unneeded…what reason was there for him to stick around?

He wasn't suicidal; Ferb knew instantly that as much as he hated being alive at the moment, he would hate death even more. But if he ran away…would anyone look?

He scoffed quietly, noting that no one had noticed him leaving the fair. So why would they look for him if he left home?

This thought was shattered as footsteps came from behind him. Ferb refused to turn around and reveal his tear streaked face to his friends or family, preferring to stay silent and in the shadows as usual.

"Um…hi. Are you Ferb?" said a soft, female voice that didn't belong to anyone he knew.

Ferb stiffened slightly, but nodded.

"Cause um…we found your book," stated a different voice, this one male and with the hint of Spanish on his tongue.

Ferb tilted his head ever so slightly, gulping back the lump in his throat enough to speak. "I don't want it," he whispered, wincing at the crack his voice made.

There was a brief pause, and then a set of footsteps edged closer to him. Ferb turned away, not willing to look at the strangers behind him.

A gentle hand was laid on his shoulder and Ferb glanced at it, noting the feminine qualities. "Are you okay?" the girl murmured, her tone soothing.

The other teen, the boy, walked around the other side of him and sat down on his left so that Ferb was forced to stare straight ahead. "Because this book has some seriously awesome designs in it," he stated, his voice gentle.

Ferb snorted. "Right. They're something."

Neither demi-god missed the sarcasm in his voice, and Annabeth and Leo looked at each other in confusion. Leo glanced down at the book and flipped it open again, noting the names scrawled on the inside of the book.

_Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher_

Raising a slight eyebrow, Leo turned the pages of the book quickly, his eyes picking up the subtlest hints from context clues, his skilled brain working quickly. He snapped the book shut and nodded to Annabeth, turning to face Ferb fully.

"I'm guessing you made all this stuff with your stepbrother," Leo said thoughtfully, noting the way that Ferb flinched. "And based on the fact that his name comes first on almost everything, he kind of got the spotlight all the time."

Annabeth stared at Leo, her jaw working as she tried to find words. Leo held up a hand, indicating that he knew what to do. "And it also looks like this friend of yours, the Latino girl? Looks like she might have a crush on him. Probably tried to get him to notice her. Your brother seems like he might be oblivious."

Ferb gave a small smile and glanced at Leo, his eyes filled with tears and his face littered with tear lines. Leo grimaced slightly but said nothing about it.

"I can't tell much else about your friends or family from this," Leo claimed, tapping the cover of the book before pushing it into Ferb's hands, "but I get what it feels like to be pushed aside."

Annabeth's head shot up and she furrowed her eyebrows at Leo. He refused to meet her gaze, staring at the book instead.

"My friends and I…well, we had this dangerous mission we had to go on. We're not exactly…normal," Leo stated easily, knowing that even if the boy wasn't a demi-god, he sure as Hades was intelligent and talented. "This mission…I mean, we figured that someone might die."

Annabeth flinched and glanced away, knowing that to stop Leo would be bad. She'd caught a glimpse of Ferb's tear stained face and knew that at the moment, he desperately need a friend. So instead of saying anything, she leaned in and listened.

"But we had to do it," Leo continued. "So I made this super awesome ship, with a dragon for our mascot and the ship could fly and shoot cannons and there was a giant claw in the bottom. And there were seven of us, and our coach, who is kind of insane but really awesome. Seven of us. So, an odd number."

Leo took a deep breath, noting the way that Ferb's head was tilted. The boy was definitely listening. He sighed and ran a hand through his curly hair before continuing.

"So I mean….everyone paired up. Annabeth and Percy, and Jason and Piper, and Frank and Hazel. And I…I was…am the seventh wheel," he murmured, glancing at the ground to avoid Annabeth's gaze. "Nemesis said I always would be, and she was right. I mean….Calypso and I…we had something. But then we realized that a goddess and a mortal just wouldn't work together."

Ferb jumped when Leo said goddess, but said nothing, wondering if the boy was insane. He let him continue.

"So…I was shoved aside a lot. Forgotten a lot. It was like…I was there for repairs and to burst into flames every now and then and stop a monster. I felt pretty useless and unwanted. I…Percy and Jason caught me trying to kill myself once," he managed to choke out.

He heard a small cry come from Annabeth, but he kept his gaze lowered, tapping the book in Ferb's lap lightly. "That book is filled with some of the coolest inventions ever, Ferb. And I know that you might feel kind of alone right now. But…you have friends that are there for you."

The Latino raised his head and met Annabeth's watery gaze, giving her a shaky smile. "Sometimes you just need to confide in them, so that they know you feel that way."

Ferb took a deep breath and looked up at the Annabeth and Leo, his eyes still tear filled. "How…how did you know all that?"

Leo gave a small smile and a shrug. "I had a hard time growing up. I get what it looks like to be depressed. Most of it I just deduced from your book…if Phineas is your stepbrother, which parent is your biological one?" he asked, avoiding the word 'real-' he knew that some people got offended by that.

"My father," Ferb murmured, not understanding the pout that came across Leo's face. "My mum…she died when I was younger."

Hesitating, the Brit reached into his pocket slowly and pulled his wallet out, flipping it open and pulling out a photo. "That was her," he said softly, handing the photo to Leo.

Annabeth blinked as she spotted a kind looking, green haired woman in the picture with a baby in her arms. Okay, so this kid definitely wasn't a demi-god. Just really gifted. Still, she was glad they had stopped by.

Leo smiled and handed the picture back to Ferb. "Want to come hang out with my friends and me? You're incredibly smart and in a group like us, we need smart."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow and Leo held up his hands, chuckling. "You know, besides Wise Girl over here," he amended.

Ferb paused, chewing his lip. He answered Leo's question with a question. "What did you mean…goddess? Burst into flames? Monsters? Nemesis? Isn't she…a Greek goddess?"

His eyebrows furrowed together as he glanced from Annabeth to Leo in confusion. The two glanced at one another and Leo sighed, holding out his hand. With a hesitant nod from the daughter of Athena, he allowed his fingers to burst into tiny flames. Ferb jumped a little, his eyes widening, but he looked more fascinated than scared.

He glanced over at Annabeth and raised an eyebrow. She held up her hands, a smile playing on her features. "I'm just a daughter of Athena. Can't burst into flames."

Ferb raised a singular eyebrow and the two watched him carefully as he pieced everything together. "So…then you're a son of Hephaestus, if the flames are any indication," Ferb murmured, nodding to Leo, who was more startled than he cared to admit that the boy had figured it out so quickly, "and you thought I might be the son of one of the two, based on my blueprints and the fact that I have a stepmother."

Annabeth's jaw was almost on the ground. "My gods, are you sure you aren't a child of one of them? Because that was some of the greatest deduction I've ever seen, save for what Leo just said."

"I'm sorry," Leo said, cupping a hand to his ear, "did you just infer that I'm smart?"

Annabeth scowled and punched him before standing and offering a hand to Ferb. The boy took it shyly and stood up. "If…if I'm not a child of one of the gods…am I allowed to know about them?" he asked nervously, glancing around.

Leo shrugged and bounced to his feet. "Hasn't been much of a problem. Our oracle is human. You sure you don't want to hang out with us?"

Ferb glanced over at the two and gave them a warm smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled down an address and handed it to Annabeth. "I'm sure. I need to talk to my brother," he said, gazing over towards the fair. "But please, stop by our house some time."

Ferb held up the journal with a smile. "Some pretty unique things go on there."

Annabeth slid the paper into her pocket and nodded. "We definitely will, Ferb. I'm sure Leo would love to gush over your machinery."

Leo frowned at her but nodded enthusiastically. "I'm kind of a machine fanatic," he said, which was an understatement even to the tween in front of him. "Good luck talking to Phineas, Ferb."

Ferb paused and then stuck out his hand. Leo took it gently before pulling him into a hug. "You should know I don't shake hands," the boy said with a laugh.

Ferb rolled his eyes and pulled away, glancing at Annabeth. She ruffled his hair and smiled. "I won't suffocate you, I promise."

"Thank you," the boy whispered, raising his eyes to look at them. "If you hadn't stopped to talk to me…I'm not quite sure what I would have done."

With that, Ferb darted off towards the fairgrounds, the knowledge of gods fresh in his mind and the intent of setting things straight with his brother heavy on his heart.

Leo immediately started back to where they had last seen their friends, but a single hand on his wrist stopped him in his tracks. He flinched and glanced back at Annabeth, having known he wouldn't get away that easily.

Her stormy gray eyes were brimming with tears as she stared at Leo and she yanked him back towards her, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Don't you ever drop a bombshell like that on me again, Leo Valdez," she threatened, her voice cracking. Leo winced and hugged the girl tightly, rubbing her back. Annabeth pulled away and rested her hands on his shoulders, staring him in the eye.

"You know I care about you, right Leo? You're like the little brother I actually wanted, but never had."

Leo gave a shaky smile and nodded. "I know. It was a long time ago, Annabeth. Before you went looking for the Athena Parthenos."

Annabeth's eyes saddened. "Leo…why didn't you tell anyone? You said Jason and Percy…?"

"Yeah," Leo whispered, surprised to find that there was a lump in his throat. "They were the only ones that ever knew. I'm okay now Annabeth." He raised his eyes to look at her. "I promise."

She gave a shaky smile and kissed his forehead lightly. "You better. Because I will judo flip you next time you keep a secret like that from me."

Leo chuckled, linked his arm through Annabeth's, and the two headed back towards the fair.

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><p><strong>So this is in canon with my other story, We've Got You. I would love if you'd read it. You don't have to, obviously, to understand this story. But I'd love if you did. <strong>

**Guys. Leo's dad is Hephaestus. The Egyptian version of Hephaestus is Ptah. Ptah created the platypus. The Egyptian version of Leo's dad made Perry the Platypus. **

**WAT.**

**Review please! And Solangelo for the win!**


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